


Cause and/or Effect

by Aris Merquoni (ArisTGD)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Ainley!Master, Angst, Community: whoniverse1000, Fanwank, M/M, Paradox
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-20
Updated: 2008-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-06 20:05:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArisTGD/pseuds/Aris%20Merquoni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There's no one moment when you've gone too far to turn 'round."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cause and/or Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Planet of Fire, set after Trial of a Time Lord.

After far too many moments of incineration the Master felt the familiar tug of a transmat and landed, painfully, on the floor of a TARDIS.

"Well," a familiar-unfamiliar voice said, "you're a little sunburned, but not too worse for the wear."

It would be. It was just like the Doctor to change his mind, try to weasel out of the things he'd done by plucking his own victims out of the timestream. He scowled, blinked opened his eyes--and felt his face go slack with surprise. "Doctor... what on Gallifrey are you wearing?"

"Oh, do shut up," the Doctor snapped--his face was even more boyish than his last regeneration, if possible, with a halo of blond curls, and his clothing... the less said about that, the better. "I did just save your life, you know. Probably created a time paradox. Or solved one."

"You really are an incorrigible meddler, even in your own affairs," the Master said. He sighed and sat up, brushed at the ashes of his trousers. "You seemed quite content to let me die, a few minutes ago."

"Well, you did throw me off an aerial," the Doctor pointed out. "I had to spend an entire regeneration as that milksop. Do you need anything?"

The Master raised his eyebrows. "This is definitely a new you."

Instead of answering the Doctor just stared at him, frowning thoughtfully. It started to get old after a moment, uncomfortable after another. "Well, Doctor--"

"Koschei," the Doctor said, "I--"

"Don't call me that, _Theta_," the Master snapped.

That set the Doctor back a moment. "'Master,' then" he amended, managing to layer the name with nothing but sarcasm.

"Much better."

The Doctor sighed. "There was a time when we did more than snipe at each other. Or try to destroy one another."

That hurt more than the crucible on Sarn had. He looked away, seething. "You could have joined me. You chose otherwise."

"You could have stopped. You chose to continue."

"Your endless arrogance!" the Master sputtered, then stopped, gritting his teeth.

The Doctor sighed, came around the console and knelt on the floor beside him. He was wearing orange spats--the latest regeneration must have utterly destroyed his color vision. "It really is too late, isn't it," he said.

The Master closed his eyes for a moment, then reached up and grabbed the ludicrous polka-dotted tie around the Doctor's neck and pulled him down until he could grind their mouths together in something more savage than a kiss, teeth and lips clashing to bruise.

"Is that it, then?" he growled when the Doctor pulled back to breathe. "Is this what you want?"

"You're injured--" the Doctor gasped.

He growled and pushed the Doctor to the smooth, cold TARDIS floor, wrestled the ridiculous coat back off his shoulders until the Doctor was struggling to free his arms. "Don't speak to me of injuries," he said as he attacked the Doctor's trousers. "I've had worse."

"Let me--"

He shoved the Doctor back onto the floor, crawled on top of him to pin him down. "Don't--" he snarled, "--Move."

The Doctor stared up at him, breath shuddering, eyes only closing for a moment when the Master ground his hips forward, aligning flesh with tender flesh. "Even in this," he said. "Even in this you have to 'win.'"

The Master leaned forward until his teeth were at the Doctor's ear. "I always win," he said. It came out in a rasp. Everything was too sudden, his senses awoken by the fire. Too quickly, everything was falling apart, he was burying his teeth in the Doctor's neck and shuddering like he was being left, like a phoenix, alone and burning away.

The Doctor's gaze was slightly cloudy when he pulled away and stood, fixing the tattered remains of his clothing. The Master walked unsteadily toward the console, found the tracking system, punched in the arcane codes to find his own TARDIS.

"Wait a minute," the Doctor said, finally realizing that the Master had no intention of finishing the job.

"Sorry, Doctor," the Master said. He pushed the materialization controls, and with a groan the Doctor's TARDIS settled around his own, making the inconspicuous rock column appear in the control room. "I've no intention of overstaying my welcome."

He looked over again. The Doctor had struggled to his feet, pulling his coat around him again. "There's no one moment," he said, "when you've gone down the path too far to turn 'round. There's still time."

The Master laughed. "You've lost, Doctor," he said, and pushed his way into his own TARDIS.

Before he got the doors closed, he thought he heard a mournful voice reply, "No, Master, I think you have."


End file.
